Kauai County, HI Building Setbacks & Zoning: Lot Coverage Limits (2026)

Section 8-4.3(d)(3) of the Kaua'i County Code 1987 sets the maximum land coverage allowed on a residential parcel: no more than 60% of the lot or parcel area for property in the R-1 through R-6 Zoning Districts, no more than 80% in the R-10 Zoning District, and no more than 90% in the R-20 Zoning District. The Code's definitions section, § 8-1.5, defines 'land coverage' broadly as any man-made structure, improvement, or covering that prevents normal precipitation from directly reaching the underlying soil, expressly naming roofs, asphalt or stone paving, roads, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts, and patios, plus any area compacted by parking or heavy foot traffic.

The Planning Director may treat semipermeable materials such as grasscrete or grass pavers as qualifying for up to a 50% reduction in the area counted toward lot coverage, and County or State ADA retrofits are excluded from the calculation where they cannot otherwise comply with the Chapter. Multiple family dwellings on subdivided lots follow a separate limit: § 8-4.4(c)(6) caps their land coverage, including buildings and pavement, at 50% of the lot or parcel area, though that cap does not apply to separate lots used in common for parking or other community purposes.

Both the density-district percentages in § 8-4.3(d)(3) and the multi-family cap in § 8-4.4(c)(6) are administered by the Planning Department as part of Zoning Permit review under Article 4 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.